Falsettos brings Broadway to Beenleigh
Beenleigh’s much-loved community theatre group Phoenix Ensemble is bringing a critically acclaimed Broadway show to life for locals.
Falsettos, which opens 7 February, is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn.
Director Hayley Gervais says the show will be the first sung-through musical performed at Phoenix Ensemble since their production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 2022.
‘Falsettos is a show not often performed because of its complex score with a live band,’ says Hayley.
‘So, it’s a great opportunity to see lesser-known theatre and support not only the performers but the musicians and everyone who has lent a hand backstage’.
Hayley says that over the years, the musical has touched the hearts of many theatre fans for its complex political themes and its approach to musical tragedy with its setting in 1981, the year of the first documented case of AIDS.
Initially, the musical depicts the character of Marvin as blessed with the perfect family. He has a caring wife, Trina, and a young son, Jason. Nevertheless, the family is soon broken apart, when Marvin decides to leave Trina for a man called Whizzer.
‘Falsettos is about family and faith, love and loss, and how tragedy can bring people together whether that be biological or chosen family,’ says Hayley.
Featuring a cast of 7 performers from across South East Queensland, the youngest actor is 12-year-old Fraser Goodreid, who recently played Michael Banks in the Australian touring production of Mary Poppins.
Above: (From left) Alex Smith and Fraser Goodreid bring the Broadway show Falsetto to Beenleigh. Photo: Kenn Santos, Stageshots.
Hayley says Phoenix Ensemble is proudly an inclusive local theatre with a mission to empower its community to make art, grow and find belonging.
‘We also work hard to create an engaging theatre experience in an intimate space,’ she says.
‘I’m very proud, as both the production director and Phoenix Ensemble’s artistic director, to be bringing Falsettos to Beenleigh.
‘While the show contains themes that were pertinent in the late 1970s and early ’80s, the relevancy of those themes in today’s society is uncanny.’
Falsettos opens on February 7 and runs until March 1 at the Pavilion Theatre, Beenleigh Showgrounds in James Street. Full details https://phoenixensemble.com.au/
Photo at top: (From left) Falsetto cast members Joshua Brandon, Luke O’Hagan, Alex Smith, Fraser Goodreid, Genevieve Tree, Rae Rose and Micheal Enright. Photo: Kenn Santos, Stageshots.